{OT:} Crude oil prices down $0.65 a barrel

We all know if crude prices were *UP* $0.65/bbl, there would be an increase at the pump within 24 hours. Anybody want to time the *decrease*?

Reply to
hachiroku
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Well.... Memorial Day's not here yet, but is approaching, so.... next September? If there is a dip between now & Memorial Day, won't last for long, with summer still ahead.

I paid $2.98 a couple of days ago.

Cathy

Reply to
Cathy F.

There ain't gonna be no f***ing decrease. Gas around here just jumped another 20 cents UP. F***ing theives. We're now at 3.19 just about everywhere in the Chicago suburban area.

Charles of Schaumburg

Reply to
n5hsr

If you hate the free market so much, join your socialist buddy Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and enjoy gasoline for less than $1 a gallon.

Reply to
larry moe 'n curly

I think there are two problems with this statement:

1) When crude oil prices go up, there increase is not necessarily within 24 hours at the pump. 2) The price of gasoline depends on many factors, like market forces, such as supply and demand. So an increase or decrease in oil prices may mean that the price of gasoline will go up less in the summer driving season or may not affect the price of gasoline at all.

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff

You're right, of course. It's usually within 6 hours...

Again, you're right. Why would they give up a decrease when they can just call it 'market factors'.

Guess you're too young to remember "Gas Wars", eh? Funny, they always came in the summer...

And I think it has a lot more to do with maintaining record profits...

Reply to
Hachiroku

Evidence please. In New Jersey, it is illegal to increase the price at the pump more than once a day.

Then don't buy gas there.

No, I remember them. Along with the long lines at the gas stations in the

70s.

And, I am sure, that if you were running the oil companies, you would go for break-even. So what if the stock holders, your bosses, don't make any money.

No one has been able to tell me how much they think oil companies should make in profit.

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff

The gas wars were an effort to increase sales.

The long lines in the 70's were a result of politics. Just like every 'gas crisis' since.

Yup...there's only so much oil in the ground. But, based on current consumption esitmates, there's enough for another 100 years. Course, they said that 30 years ago, so I guess they found another 30 year's worth somewhere...

Who's working on a replacement? Anybody?

Watch the Indy Cars last Sunday. They ALL run on Ethanol. Gee, if a 700HP car can run at 220MPH on Ethanol, why can't my 165HP Scion run at 75 MPH on it?

Would I pay extra? Perhaps, as long as it's justified. But the oil companies are WORSE than the government. Here in Mass the Sales tax was supposed to be temporary, a 'stop gap'. That was 46 years ago, and we still have a sales tax. The Federal Income tax was levied to pay for...the Spanish-America war? Gee, IIRC, that war was paid for a LOND time ago.

So, let's say someone actually has the BALLS to start selling Ethanol (O know it's for sale in some parts of the country...let's take it nationwide). They begin selling it for $3.50 or $4 a gallon. OK, great. A lot of people switch to Ethanol.

Now, after 3 years, a LOT of people are running Ethanol. Economies of scale start to kick in, and the costs to produce Ethanol now decrease to make the cost on par, or perhaps cheaper than Gasoline.

You think the fuel companies are going to pass those savings on to the consumers?

For the life of me, I can't in the world figure out *WHY* you keep defending a racket like the oil companies. It may not be a Monopoly, but it's damn close to it. IIRC, it's an Oligopoly, if my Economics memory serves me. One step below a Monopoly.

Reply to
Hachiroku

"Jeff" wrote in news:0_%Zh.4514$st3.1056@trnddc06:

Because demand is highest then, of course.

A direct result of Richard Nixon's price controls.

Nixon attempted to cool the house by applying an ice cube to the thermometer. All he did was confuse everybody and everything, and disaster resulted.

The gas wars didn't end until Reagan repealed Nixon's price controls, after which the price of oil (and gasoline) plummetted.

Reply to
Tegger

If you want to get back at the evil oil companies, hit them where it hurts, stop buying their products, WBMA ;)

mike

Reply to
Mike Hunter

That was back in the days before the EPA and the federal environmental laws restricting the drilling, refining, storing, and transporting of oil and it products and when only 6,000,000 new vehicles were sold annually in the US, not 16,000,000 ;)

mike

Reply to
Mike Hunter

I'll bet they would be happy if they could just make as much per gallon as does the average states treasury LOL

mike

Reply to
Mike Hunter

I think perhaps you misunderstand Gas War? Correct me if I'm worng.

Back when I was a kid, and there were gas stations on almost every corner, they would compete for sales. So, let's say gas was $0.35/gallon. They would have a weekend, or even a week when gas would be $0.17/gallon (that's the lowest price I remember). That would usually be around the 4th of July (imagine, *LOWERING* prices during the highest demand period of the summer!). And then, a lot of the time, they would have them around Labor Day.

So, correct me if I'm worng!

Reply to
Hachiroku

Problem is that it's not a free market, the Oil companies have all merged into just a handfull now making it easier for them to monopolize prices. Free market requires fair competition, this doesn't exist anymore in the oil industry. It's all a big money machine designed to make these fat asses all multi billionaires. What other industry has profits skyrocket when it costs more to make your profit? The war in Iraq is the single most reason for the skyrocketing profits, since it has allowed them to take advantage of the chaos. Funny how gas prices fell shortly before the election. Go look at any graph of oil profits, they started to skyrocket right after the start of the Iraq war, same for haliburton. These companies own Bush and the GOP and that is the underlying reason for the war in Iraq. America needs to wake up and oust all these greedy bastards.

Reply to
ToMh

Never mind. On the good news that crude prices were DOWN, the gas companies celebrated by RAISING prices in my area! Even when the price goes *down*, the prices goes up!!!

All this time I've been in the wrong business. Whenever we got a decrease in our costs, we passed along the savings to our customers. Of course, we were in a business where if we didn't they'd go elsewhere, because there were PLENTY of other places to go.

Oligopoly...look it up...

Reply to
Hachiroku

=?iso-2022-jp?q?Hachiroku_=1B$B%O%A%m%=2F=1B=28B?= wrote in news:yt6_h.7662$YQ1.6255@trndny02:

You'll have to give a year, I'm afraid. I'm 45 years old, so my working memory for such things only goes back to about 1970.

Assuming you're talking about events prior to 1970, the situation was far different from today:

1) No enviro regulations to add costs 2) No fear of heavy liability lawsuits 3) Easy to start up new refineries, so lots of excess capacity 4) Same gas everywhere except at high elevations 5) The anti-knock additive could be added at the refinery, and gas lasted longer because it had no oxygen in it 6) Taxes were about half of what they are now.

Also, and everybody forgets, gas was MORE expensive then than now, in terms of today's buying power. Remember that the dollar has bee debased by an order of several magnitude from then. Back then you might only get 50 cents an hour's pay, but a coffee cost a dime.

Finally, if there was that much flux in the price of gas back then, then either there was a considerable margin built into the price, or somebody was losing his shirt on the sales and the oil company was bailing him out.

Reply to
Tegger

Actually, gas has historically run around $2 to $3 per gallon, with a spike in the 70s and a trough in the 90s to around 2001. So gas is near the top of the normal historical range now, and relatively high to the price in late

90s, early 00s.

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff

Dear Mike,

I've already cut my driving down in the last year from 90 miles a day to less than 100 miles a week. I can't cut back any more without dying or quitting work, which means I die anyway.

And gas just jumped another 15 cents, Royal Dutch Hell has just gone up to

3.349

Charles of Schaumburg

Reply to
n5hsr

It went up here in the Chicago Burbs, too. Exxon-Mobil-Racket is 3.25 and Royal Dutch Hell is 3.34 when they were both 3.19 this morning. What dog pissed on which refinery? Damn thieves. May their souls burn in eternal hellfire.

Charles of Schaumburg

Reply to
n5hsr

Probably All Of The Above!

This was back in the 60's. I've only got 5 years on you, but I remember them from when I was a kid about 7 or so (you would have been 2...) but they lasted into the early 70's.

Reply to
Hachiroku

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